Architecting Business and IS/IT Strategic Alignment for Extended Enterprises

Llanos CUENCA
Research Centre on Production Management and Engineering (CIGIP), Universidad Politecnica de Valencia Camino de Vera s/n,
8G-4 (Polytechnic City of Innovation) 46022 Valencia, Spain

Andres BOZA
Research Centre on Production Management and Engineering (CIGIP), Universidad Politecnica de Valencia Camino de Vera s/n,
8G-4 (Polytechnic City of Innovation) 46022 Valencia, Spain

Angel ORTIZ
Research Centre on Production Management and Engineering (CIGIP), Universidad Politecnica de Valencia Camino de Vera s/n,
8G-4 (Polytechnic City of Innovation) 46022 Valencia, Spain

Abstract: Incorporating information systems and information technology (IS/IT) is badly needed in extended enterprises. For this purpose, the enterprise engineering approach offers important benefits; however there is no complete framework to define and model IS/IT components and their strategic alignment with the business strategy. This paper presents an enterprise architecture framework for extended enterprises which improves not only the strategic alignment process inside each individual company, but also the strategic alignment process for the extended enterprise. The main aim of this paper is to provide a modelling framework from the enterprise engineering approach which includes the components to model the IS/IT strategy and allow the extended enterprise to improve strategic alignment process. A comparative analysis has been done of life- cycle phases, modelling views and the strategic alignment between different enterprise architectures. Next, the required building blocks have been proposed: IS/IT conceptualization, strategic dependencies, alignment heuristics, maturity model and application portfolio (as-is and to-be). This proposal has been applied in the collaborative order management process of a ceramic tile company with its suppliers and consumers.

The current economic situation and the high level of market uncertainty force companies to continuously adapt to respond to constant changes.

The competitive advantages in the changing business environment have transferred organizational structures from single enterprises to extended or virtual enterprise networks.

Collaboration among enterprises requires an efficient interaction of all the enterprise elements, which is based upon a complete framework [1]. Information technology improves the value chain (improving the enterprise processes and defining new processes) by changing the way companies do business. In this sense, it is important to define a framework to model business and, information systems, information technology (IS/IT) components, and their alignment, in an extended enterprise.

In this paper we propose a modelling framework using an enterprise engineering approach to identify views, life cycle and building blocks to model strategic alignment for extended enterprises. Business and IS/IT strategic alignment engineering is a process used for architecting and designing strategic alignment. The proposed modelling framework incorporates the elements required to fulfil this objective in early life-cycle phases. The paper is a revised and extended version of a paper presented at BASYS’10 [2].